Games, Card Games and Books

We played lots of indoor games - card games, Monopoly, Chinese Checkers (with marbles) and regular Checkers. The card games were Slap Jack, Old Maid, Crazy 8s, Authors (how I learned who the famous authors were and what they wrote), Rook, Hearts, 10 point pitch, Auction Bridge (Mom called it country bridge to differentiate it from Contract Bridge),and Cribbage.

Growing up my brothers were nearly 15 years older and ten years older than I. So by the time I was eight, they had all left home. When Bill came home for a visit, Mom, Daddy and Bill always played cards - so they needed a fourth to play Bridge. I was available and, while I would rather read a book, I got drafted. That is how I learned Contract Bridge. We also played pitch with four of us. Bob and Dick also played cards. The two of them plus Bill taught me how to play Cribbage.

Daddy would sometimes get upset with me because when I had the "dummy" hand in Bridge, I always had a book on my lap and wanted to read. That was not acceptable when we played Bridge.

I think Mom and Daddy had always played cards - when they were young marrieds, they played with a preacher and his wife (not in Ness City). They had to pull the blinds because playing cards was not acceptable to the congregation where this pastor worked.

Mom and Daddy played Bridge with several other couples. Until I got old enough to stay by myself, I always took a book along so I could read.

My brother Bill always had his nose in a book and I learned to love reading from him. I would walk to the library every other day in the summertime. We could only check out two books at a time - this frustrated me. I was a fast reader; therefore I walked to the library about every other day. I read books about animals, cowboy stories, science fiction, and detective stories. The Nancy Drew books were fun and so were the books about "Cherry Ames" - if I recall, Cherry was a nurse. I still love to read.